Ok, bear with me... Mankind is developing a new type of religion: conspiracy-theorism.

[DetlefK]

1. At the heart of religion is the philosophy of "animism": Things are this way, because SOMEONE made the SUBJECTIVE DECISION for things to be this way.

2. Religion gives a set of morals and knowledge. It aides you in making difficult decisions and it gives you the assurance of knowing the world and your place in the world.

3. Having the correct religion automatically makes you better than other people, on an immaterial, moral, esoteric, supernatural level.




The material successes of science since the 18th century have lead to people slowly but surely turning away from religion: The number of self-proclaimed religious people is shrinking.

BUT... On an emotional level, people still desire and need the comforts religion provides.
(As an agnostic scientist, I can say that it is possible to find emotional and moral comfort and cosmic beauty in the naturalist world-view, but it takes some time and you need to get really deep into it.)

So, while people reject the notion of religion, not only publicly but to the point of lying to themselves and denying their true selves, deep down on a subconscious level they still desire the spoils of religion.




And THIS is the reason why these non-religious people have created their own new religion: conspiracy-theories.

1. Why are things the way they are? Because some unaccountable cabal of people made it that way. (Unaccountable and untouchable, outside of the realm of law and elections, essentially a "supernatural" power.)

2. Conspiracy-theories provide you with the knowledge how the world ACTUALLY works.

3. Knowing this conspiracy-theory automatically makes you a GENIUS. Defending this conspiracy-theory and seeking to spread it automatically makes you a HERO, because it makes you stand in opposition to the Big Evil.






My point is: While traditional, organized religion is slowly dying over the centuries, a disorganized new type of religion has recently emerged:
The belief in conspiracy-theories.